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Managed infrastructure. Merchant-controlled funds.

Accept Bitcoindirectly to your wallet.

Manatee is a managed, non-custodial Bitcoin payment API for online stores and custom applications. Keep control of your funds without operating your own Bitcoin payment infrastructure.

Start with Testnet4View the API

Public beta · Testnet4 and mainnet credentials · No wallet private keys

Explore
Direct wallet settlementCustomer payments use your receiving addresses
Managed infrastructureNodes, monitoring, and delivery operated for you
API-firstDocumented REST endpoints and lifecycle states
Signed webhooksHMAC-authenticated payment events

Why Manatee exists

Self-custody shouldn't require another payment server to operate.

A merchant typically delegates payment infrastructure to a provider or runs the entire Bitcoin payment stack. Manatee separates infrastructure operation from custody: Manatee creates and monitors payments while settlement goes directly to the merchant's wallet.

Manatee manages the payment infrastructure.You keep control of the Bitcoin.

Managed provider

Custodial payment provider

  • Infrastructure is operated for the merchant
  • The provider may control funds or settlement
  • Minimal infrastructure responsibility
Self-hosted

BTCPay Server

  • Full self-custody and infrastructure control
  • The merchant operates the payment stack
  • A strong fit for experienced self-hosters
Managed, non-custodial

Manatee

  • Payment infrastructure is operated for you
  • Bitcoin settles to merchant-controlled addresses
  • No payment server for the merchant to maintain

Self-custody without self-hosting the payment infrastructure. BTCPay Server is a strong choice when you want to operate the entire payment stack yourself. Manatee is designed for teams that want the custody benefits without maintaining that infrastructure. Read the detailed comparison.

Trust boundary

Know exactly what you're trusting Manatee with.

Manatee is part of your payment infrastructure, but it is not your wallet. You trust the service to report payment state and deliver events—not to hold or move merchant funds.

Manatee can

  • Create payment requests through the API
  • Derive receive addresses from configured public wallet information
  • Monitor matching on-chain transactions
  • Track the configured confirmation threshold
  • Deliver timestamped, HMAC-signed webhook events

Manatee cannot

  • Spend Bitcoin received by your wallet
  • Withdraw or transfer your funds
  • Access your wallet seed phrase or private keys
  • Issue refunds or make fulfillment decisions
Understand the custody model Review the security checklist See what wallet data is configured

Operational transparency

What happens if Manatee goes offline?

Your Bitcoin remains in your wallet.

Transactions already broadcast to the Bitcoin network remain Bitcoin transactions independent of Manatee.

During an outage

New payment creation, transaction detection, status updates, or webhook delivery can be temporarily unavailable.

What does not change

Manatee does not gain custody of funds already received by merchant-controlled addresses.

Prepare for reconciliation

Store the payment ID, address, amount, and merchant reference with the order. After recovery, query payment state rather than assuming an interrupted checkout was unpaid.

Read the reconciliation guide

Payment lifecycle

From API request to verified order state.

Your order system owns customer, fulfillment, and refund decisions. Manatee reports the matching on-chain payment state.

  1. 01

    Create payment

    Your backend creates one payment for one order.

  2. 02

    Present details

    Show the address, amount, QR code, and expiry.

  3. 03

    Customer pays

    The customer broadcasts a Bitcoin transaction.

  4. 04

    Detect

    Manatee matches the transaction to the payment.

  5. 05

    Track

    Confirmations advance against your configured threshold.

  6. 06

    Deliver

    Manatee sends the corresponding signed webhook event.

  7. 07

    Update order

    Your backend verifies the event and applies its policy.

Concrete delivery contract

Verify the event before changing the order.

Each delivery includes a timestamp, event ID, and HMAC-SHA256 signature. Verify the raw body, enforce a timestamp window, and process every event ID idempotently.

Read the verification guide
payment.confirmed verified
{
  "version": "1",
  "type": "payment.confirmed",
  "data": {
    "payment_id": "pay_abc123",
    "asset": "btc",
    "network": "testnet",
    "txid": "a1b2c3d4…",
    "address": "tb1q…7px4",
    "amount_sats": 84730,
    "received_sats": 84730,
    "confirmations": 3,
    "webhook_url": "https://shop.example/webhooks/btc"
  }
}

API responsibilities

What Manatee handles for your checkout.

Keep your product focused on orders and customers while Manatee observes matching transactions, tracks confirmations, and queues signed status events.

A small, predictable API

Create a payment with satoshis or a fiat amount, your order reference, expiry, and confirmation policy.

API basics

Your wallet, your funds

Payments settle directly to addresses you control. Manatee monitors state without holding or moving Bitcoin.

Wallet setup

Signed status events

Verify HMAC-signed webhooks before changing an order and reject stale or forged delivery attempts.

Verify webhooks

A clear payment lifecycle

Handle pending, detected, confirmed, expired, and cancelled states without inventing blockchain semantics.

Status model

Safe retries by default

Use idempotency keys for payment creation and event IDs for webhook processing so retries stay harmless.

Idempotency

Testnet4 before mainnet

Keep test and live credentials separate and validate the complete checkout flow before accepting real BTC.

Testing networks

Integrations and release status

Build directly or connect your commerce platform.

The public API and WooCommerce plugin are available now. Shopware 6 and Magento 2 are in beta, with packages currently distributed on request.

REST APIPublic beta

For custom products and checkout flows

Create BTC or BCH payments with documented JSON endpoints, explicit lifecycle states, and signed webhook events.

WooCommercePublished plugin

For WordPress stores

Install from WordPress.org, configure Test or Live mode, and keep payment instructions and verified state with the order.

Shopware 6Beta

For Shopware 6.7 stores

Evaluate server-side payment creation, signed webhook handling, and Shopware transaction-state mapping before marketplace distribution.

Magento 2Beta

For Magento Open Source 2.4.8

Test checkout instructions, payment metadata, confirmation-driven invoicing, and cancellation edge cases in your store.

Defined product scope

Built for teams that want Bitcoin payments without running the payment stack.

Manatee fits server-side integrations that can store payment records, verify signed events, and apply their own order and fulfillment policy.

Who Manatee is for

  • SaaS applications
  • Custom ecommerce backends
  • WooCommerce stores
  • Shopware 6 stores
  • Magento 2 stores
  • Developers building on-chain payment flows

When Manatee may not be the right choice

  • If you want control over every infrastructure component and are comfortable operating it, BTCPay Server may be the better fit.
  • If Lightning or another currently unsupported payment rail is mandatory, the current beta scope will not meet that requirement.
  • If you already require a contractual SLA or support tier, wait until the commercial service terms are published.

Built and operated in Germany

An independent project with a documented infrastructure boundary.

Manatee's backend is hosted in Germany. The static public website and security edge use Cloudflare's global network. The service requires public receive information, not a wallet seed phrase or private keys.

Hosting details Security guide

Public beta

Test the complete payment flow before mainnet.

Usage is intentionally limited while integrations, infrastructure, and operational processes are validated with early users. Start on Testnet4, verify both webhook states, and decide whether the operating model fits your store.